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Review of the damage mechanism in wind turbine gearbox bearings under rolling contact fatigue

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Abstract

Wind turbine gearbox bearings fail with the service life is much shorter than the designed life. Gearbox bearings are subjected to rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and they are observed to fail due to axial cracking, surface flaking, and the formation of white etching areas (WEAs). The current study reviewed these three typical failure modes. The underlying dominant mechanisms were discussed with emphasis on the formation mechanism of WEAs. Although numerous studies have been carried out, the formation of WEAs remains unclear. The prevailing mechanism of the rubbing of crack faces that generates WEAs was questioned by the authors. WEAs were compared with adiabatic shear bands (ASBs) generated in the high strain rate deformation in terms of microstructural compositions, grain refinement, and formation mechanism. Results indicate that a number of similarities exist between them. However, substantial evidence is required to verify whether or not WEAs and ASBs are the same matters.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51275225).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of PetroChemical Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, China

    Yun-Shuai Su, Shu-Rong Yu, Shu-Xin Li & Yan-Ni He

  2. School of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Shu-Xin Li

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  1. Yun-Shuai Su
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  2. Shu-Rong Yu
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Correspondence to Shu-Rong Yu or Shu-Xin Li.

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Su, YS., Yu, SR., Li, SX. et al. Review of the damage mechanism in wind turbine gearbox bearings under rolling contact fatigue. Front. Mech. Eng. 14, 434–441 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-018-0474-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-018-0474-1

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